Hope Rides Alone
by PlzBeckyLemmeSmash
Summary: In the history of Remnant, there have been two constants: Secrets and technological advancement. Ruby Rose, a girl of intrigue and her own list of hidden thoughts. Weiss Schnee, a heiress with her own story to tell. What will be left when the two constants of the world wilt and break?
1. Chapter 1

**Hope Rides Alone**

 **Chapter 1: Introduction**

* * *

 _"Legends... stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants; byproducts, of a forgotten past.. Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness — creatures of destruction — the creatures of Grimm - set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void. However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named "Dust." Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life. As time passed, life grew more and more abundant, as did human resourcefulness. Resourcefulness became knowledge, knowledge becoming technology, and to this very day, technology is still growing... evolving... changing to fit the desires of those who use it. Some use it for good: communication, safety, and defense, while others for bad:_ _war, terror, and intimidation, but one thing has held true throughout time: people hold technology with an iron fist to use for personal gain. Soon, technology will reach the point when it will become self-sufficient, no longer needing the aid of its' creators in order to function. You may prepare your people, your heritage... but there will be no stopping the incoming dissension..."_

* * *

"Alright kid, put your hands where i can see them."

A person wearing a deep red cape, bobbing their head to a song that was barely audible through equally deep red headphones, ignored the command as it wasn't heard. A man in a black suit with a lighter red undershirt holding a sword that resembled a katana glowered at the cloaked person, not amused in the slightest at being ignored. He walked closer, tapping the hooded figure on the shoulder with his blade. The figure jumped slightly, the action causing the hood to fall back revealing a wall of black and deep red hair and over the ear headphones. Turning, the now revealed girl glared at the man before her, yanking down her headphones as the man motioned to them.

"Can I help you, sir?" the girl asked, heavy annoyance flowing off her voice in waves.

The armed man, slightly shocked, responded. "I said put your hands in the air! Now!"

"Are you robbing me?" The sweet edge on the girl's voice missed by the man's annoyance.

"Yes!" The henchman all but yelled, growing flushed in anger."

"Ooohhhh..." The girl smirked and giggled slightly, discarding the magazine she had been holding and readjusting her glasses.

* * *

Roman Torchwick, a renown and notorious criminal, was at his wit's end.

 _"Of all the shitty luck... i had to resort to Junior's goons. Damn him. Damn him and his high prices for mediocre work..."_ He thought to himself, not noticing the commotion going on deeper in the dust shop until a small feminine grunt of effort and one of his hired hands flying back into the wall alerted him to another presence. He sighed and nodded in that direction, and the rest of the henchmen drew their weapons as the one who flew into the door returned to his feet. A blur flew past them into the henchman in front of the door, knocking him through the glass and onto the concrete outside. the small blur stopped over his downed body and stomped on him, knocking him out. The small girl looked up to the others, a smirk plastered on her face as she cracked her knuckles and pulled out a long rectangle from her back that quickly transformed into a mechanical scythe that was taller than it's wielder. The girl twirled the black-bladed gargantuan weapon with deft grace and speed, ending the flourish with the tip of the scythe in the ground and the bolt of it's rifle function cocked.

Roman, on his part, was becoming increasingly annoyed at his hired help's lack of incentive. "Are you going to stand there or take on the person who just kicked the fuck out of your own? Hop to it now!"

The henchmen snapped back to attention, rushing at the girl with fervor. She simply smirked wider, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. She spun, her hood coming up to cover her head and deep silver eyes before pulling the trigger on her sniper-scythe, rocketing her backwards. She readjusted and fired again, flying back to the henchmen with an uncanny speed, and began her deadly dance through the crowd.

The screams of the henchmen chilled the bones of the civilians on nearby blocks. Limbs fell like the rose petals that fell from the girl as she danced through the small mob of henchman, deftly cleaving off hands, arms, and the occasional leg that got within her deadly blade's arc. After the last henchman had been felled, she turned to them and scowled. " Shut up, you bitches. i intentionally avoided killing you, you'll live."

"Worth every cent, truly you were..." Roman said to himself, looking at his wasted money with disdain before looking back to the red reaper. "Well Red, I believe we can both say that it's been an eventful, and rather grotesque, evening! And as much as i'd love to stick around..." He smiled and lifted his cane, the tip of it flipping up to reveal cross hairs. "I believe this is where we part ways." He pulled the trigger on the handle of his cane and a red orb screamed its way towards the girl. She jumped high, avoiding the explosion that shook the street with the orb's impact, then looked back to where Roman once was after landing.

 _"Fuck... up there!"_ She thought to herself after looking up towards an emergency ladder on the side of a building and finding Roman trying to escape. She turned back to the store vendor. "Stay here and call the police. There may be more!" The old man nodded quickly to his savior as she took off for the ladder. After reaching it, she redeployed her weapon and jumped, shooting downward and letting the weapon's high-powered rounds propel her upwards toward the roof.

Roman had gotten to the roof and activated his evac-beacon within his coat as the red reaper had landed behind him.

"Persistent..." He whispered to himself as a Bullhead transport slowly rose beside the building, a ladder dangling out of the back of it. He grabbed the ladder and climbed up quickly before looking back at the girl, her hair flapping wildly as the exhaust from the flying transport kicked up a small amount of dust around her. Roman smiled and pulled out a red Dust crystal and threw it at her. "End of the line, Red" He cackled before shooting at the brightly glowing red crystal at the girl's feet. The explosion rocked the building slightly as he cackled again before looking down to discover a purple barrier where the explosion had been.

A woman with platinum blond hair and striking green eyes glowered at Roman before readjusting her glasses and firing several purple arcane projectiles at the Bullhead. the impacts didn't do much in the way of damage, but they rocked the ship violently, leading to Roman stumbling to the cockpit before being replaced by a woman wearing a red dress. Where her eyes would have been glowed a bright amber as she cast a fireball at the blond cape-wearing savior. The fireball was met with a barrier, but splattered on the ground. a deft movement from the woman on the transport had the splatter glowing brightly before exploding with a scream. the woman backflipped and cast a ball of energy above the craft that created a black thundercloud that rained ice shards that seemed to be as sharp as razors and as hard as bullets, but disappearing before making impact with the ground. The blond also concentrated on some rubble that was created by Roman's stunt with the red Dust crystal and made a rock lance that glowed purple with energy before firing it, too, at the ship. The woman inside attempted to destroy it with blasts of fire, but all it accomplished was making it split into smaller, but just as deadly, spearing shards. She brought her arms together then spread them quickly, causing a wave of fire to burst out from her and through the metal of the ship, destroy the small spear shards. She gave a final hand motion to the roof and five runes appeared on the ground below the blond woman and the red headed girl. They jumped out of the way as they screamed and exploded, turning back as the bullhead began to race off towards the night horizon.

After both women had regained their breath from the ordeal, the red scythe wielder turned to the woman before smiling. "So you're a hunter..." she said to herself as the blond glowered back at her. "Can I have your autograph?"

* * *

"Ruby Rose..." A man with silver hair and deep amber eyes said, walking into the interrogation room with a mug and a plate of cookies. The now-named girl looked up from the table, momentarily forgetting the scolding she had just recieved from the blond woman standing in the corner. "You have... silver eyes..." Ruby stared questioningly at the man who had just walked in as he pulled out an opened scroll with a street camera recording of her fight with Roman's minions.

He smiled. "So, where did an adorable girl such as yourself learn to wield a weapon such as this?" Ruby smirked slightly, rewatching her actions.

"I learned this, and more, from Signal Academy." She glanced back up at the man as he sipped his coffee.

"They taught you how to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" The man raised an eyebrow as Ruby smirked wider.

"My uncle taught me. He's a teacher at Signal and taught me everything I know." She glanced down and took one of the cookies off the plate, devouring it quickly and adjusting her glasses.

"I've only seen one other scythe wielder with this level of skill before. A dusty old crow..." He smiled off into the distance.

Ruby snorted, "Don't let Uncle Qrow catch you saying that. I made that mistake once... training that week was hell."

The man laughed and sat down. "Of course. Now tell me... what are you doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

Ruby glanced at the man before taking another cookie, taking smaller bites from it. "I desire to become a huntress."

The man quirked an eyebrow. "You wish to slay monsters?"

Ruby giggled slightly "Yep. It helps that getting in a bit of fun helps people as well, but slaying Grimm has become somewhat of a hobby of mine so why not get paid for it? After my last two years at Signal, I will be applying to Beacon to join my sister, as she's already been considered for acceptance."

The man glanced at the silent blond woman apprehensively before smiling at Ruby again. "Do you know who I am?"

Ruby glanced at the man and woman. "You are Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy. She is Glynda Goodwitch, one of your associates and fellow professor."

Ozpin smirked slightly. "Hello."

Ruby smirked back. "Nice to meet you."

Ozpin's smirk grew. "So you wish to attend my school..."

Ruby's smirk grew into a small, sincere smile. "More than anything."

Ozpin glanced at Glynda, who turned away and sighed. He smiled and looked back to Ruby. "Well, alright. You shall join your sister."

* * *

Ruby groaned as her sister wrapped her in a bear hug for what seemed like the hundredth time today. "I'm so proud of you!" came the excited voice of one Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older and more... endowed sister. Yang had bright blond hair, violet eyes, and a grip that could rival an Ursa. Ruby groaned out a Please, stop" which caused her sister to let go. "Sorry, I'm just so excited that you get to join me at Beacon! This is the best day EVER!" Yang bounced on the balls of her feet as ruby smiled and hugged her sister.

"I know, and im excited too. two years ahead of my old classmates, and two years closer to achieving my dream." Ruby smiled into her sister's hair as Yang held her tight. they broke apart only to observe the tv hologram as a Breaking News warning appeared.

"Last night's robbery has been discovered to be led by notorious criminal Roman Torchwick. The robbery was halted by, from what the police can inform us, a hooded vigilante who used a rather large weapon to dismember Torchwick's men, leaving them availible for pickup by authorities. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights movement turned dark as members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony..." the two sisters toned out as Glynda replaced the face of the reporter.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon! I am Glynda Goodwitch, and you are among the privileged few who have been selected to join this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and prosperity, and as huntsman and huntresses, it is your duty to ensure that this peace lasts. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you the knowledge and training to protect our world." The image of Glynda disappeared and an excited buzz went through the crowd of students as Ruby and Yang resumed hugging their happiness out to eachother, excited that they didn't have to separate from eachother.

* * *

Weiss Schnee descended from the steps of her plane after just recently landing onone of Beacon Academy's many landing pads. She carried herself with grace and poise that only one of nobility is known to have, her Alabaster hair only reaching the top of her shoulders, and her cold ice blue eyes studying the school before her with minor disdain.

"Why did Father send me here again, Klein?" she asked her butler and flight attendant for the third time since her takeoff from Atlas, flicking her eyes over to the kind and short man.

"So that you can enjoy the world outside of Atlas. You will need to know others outside of home if you hope to one day take over for your father in running the company."

Ah yes, the company. Schnee Dust Corporation. One of the biggest monopolies on the face of Remnant, yet also one of the worst in terms of management in her opinion.

 _"Why Father forces the faunus to work the way they do will confuse me. they are people too, just like him. Just like big sister Winter, just like everybody else."_ Weiss thought to herself. She nodded to Klein, smiling, then stepped onto the platform on the ground, waving goodbye to her personal butler and friend. After watching the plane take off, she sighed, feeling alone in an alien place.

 _"It's not so bad... what could go wrong? It's only day one."_ Weiss thought to herself and smiled, feeling a bit more confident before hearing a thud and a groan behind her. she turned, confused, before glaring at the sight before her. A girl in a red cape had tripped over her crates of dust, knocking one open as it hit the ground. She stormed up to the downed girl. "And just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

* * *

Ruby was not having a fun time. After getting off the transport, she had to dodge a pile of vomit that came from a scraggly looking blond boy who rushed off the plane first in order to dump his bowels into the nearest waste bucket. After that, Yang had ran off with her old school friends, causing Ruby to spin, highly confused, and fall back onto a couple of fancy looking boxes. she heard one crack open and flinched at the contents.

 _"Damn that was close... could've blown myself up there. I don't really wanna deal with that again..."_ She giggled to herself halfheartedly.

"And just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Ruby jumped at the loud voice behind her, quickly turning around and stopping in her tracks, her brain turning to mush.

 _"Oh my fuck she's gorgeous..."_

The girl before her was absolutely stunning. Short, shoulder length hair that had a slight rebellious tussle to it, ice blue eyes that reminded Ruby of photos of the Glaciers off the coast of Atlas, a stark white combat dress that ended at about mid-thigh, arctic white heeled boots that ended half way up her shins. Her skin was almost as alabaster as her hair, and looked as soft as snow. The angered flash in her eyes made Ruby's throat dry. The scar over her left eye twitched with her eye as she started tapping her foot gently.

"Do you have any earthly idea what could have happened! This is Dust! You know, fire! Lightning! ENERGY! A minor misuse could lead to catastrophe!" Weiss shouted in a minor rage, shaking a bottle of red dust she had picked up from the ground. Unnoticed, some of the red powder leaked from the top of the bottle, permeating the air and causing Ruby's nose to twitch.

"Are you even listening to me? You insolent little-"

The resounding explosion of the dust hanging in the air stopped the alabaster girl mid-sentence. Within the flames, small sparks of electricity and flashes of ice were seen. Ruby sniffed and tried to recover from her sneeze as the soot-covered girl started shaking in anger. "This is exactly what i was talking about! You should be more careful you dolt! What are you even doing here? Arent you a bit young to be attending Beacon?" The girl finished with a snap. Ruby had begun nervously tapping her fingers together, not expecting to cause so much problem so soon. "Im sorry..."

Her apology went unnoticed as the girl, dusted of soot, began to rant again. Ruby, growing annoyed, stood and growled, "I said i was sorry princess."

"It's heiress actually." A girl with black hair and a bow walked up to the two. "Weiss Schnee: Heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world. The same company known for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." The girl finished with a smug smile as the girl, now named Weiss, became extremely flustered at the revealed information. Ruby giggled as Weiss stormed off towards the school, and the black haired girl walking away as well. Ruby, not wasting time, sped towards the school, rose petals falling behind her.

One of which fell on top of the Schnee Dust logo on one of the exposed bottles.

* * *

 **Tell me how it is. Frst story, first time receiving criticism, so don't hold back. all questions will be answered with time. Also, i will be updating when physically possible. Work is an issue.**

 **Peace.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Initiation**

Ruby woke up next to her sister, her back a bit sore from the ballroom floor. Glancing toward her scroll, she scowled.

" _4:58. Lovely. No time for a nap… fuck today already."_ She drug herself from the confines of her sleeping bag, shivering slightly as her sister's warmth left her. She grabbed her bag and quickly packed before rushing to the washroom for a shower. Entering the room, she quickly realized that she wasn't the only one unfortunate enough to wake up at such an ungodly hour. Smiling softly to herself, she stuck to the opposite side of the washroom, quickly undressing and beginning her shower.

As she stepped under the scalding hot water, she sighed in content. _"After yesterday, this is so heavily needed…"_ she thought to herself as a small groan escaped her throat. She quickly pushed past her desire to simply relish in the glories of hot water and quickly scrubbed herself down, taking extra care of her hair, which cascaded a bit past the middle of her back. She loved her hair. She loved the feeling she got from keeping it maintained and in perfect health, and has since she was young.

" _Team initiation… who would I like to be on my team? Of course there's Yang. I don't think I could make it an entire year, let alone four, without her. Lets see… Oh! Maybe that black haired girl from yesterday! She seemed calm enough, maybe a bit reserved. Now… I know her in passing, Yang, and…"_ Her mind cut its inner discussion as a flicker of white found its way to her peripherals. Ruby's cheeks heated slightly at the robed sight of the alabaster time bomb. She smiled softly as Weiss gently combed her hair, deciding that if any time would be best to apologize, it'd be now.

"Good morning, Weiss." Ruby spoke with a soft confidence to the alabaster angel.

"Hello… Ruby was it?" Her reply shocked Ruby, expecting to just be ignored entirely.

Ruby smiled softly and leaned against the sink she was standing at. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened yesterday, especially the explosion. I feel like you may not believe me, but me falling over was due to my sister. She spun me as she rushed off with her friends from Signal that were chosen to come here as well. You have no right to accept or even consider this apology, but it's out there, and I am willing to start over for the sake of us potentially being a team or being on the same team, what do you say?" Ruby finished with an outstretched hand, a small smile tugging at her lips. Weiss stared at her hand, seemingly calculative before gripping it softly. "I accept your apology, though do try to refrain from doing such again." Weiss smirked. "That Dust… shit's expensive, and that's coming from the heir of a company that mines, refines, purifies, and distributes it."

Ruby laughed slightly, her hand brushing through her hair. "You have a sense of humor! Awesome! Now, Ive got to get back to my sister before she wakes. She'd destroy the place in worry from where I am. New place and all, you know?"

Weiss watched the red reaper leave the room before staring into the mirror in front of her, a deep sigh pulled from the depths of her body. _"What an odd individual. She got me to be… comfortable enough to use a swear word, and ive known her for less than twenty-four hours. Just who is that girl?"_ She stared at her reflection a bit more, wondering how someone so new could have such an effect on her in such a short time, especially given the circumstances. Weiss gathered her things and finished preparing for the test that she knew would come soon.

"Your test is simple. Journey to the northernmost part of the forest, collect a relic from the temple, and guard it with your life on your travel to return to this cliffside. You will meet opposition, do not hesitate to slaughter all in your path, or you will die." Ozpin sipped his coffee, judging the reactions of the students in front of him. Yang looked excited, donning a pair of sunglasses and getting into a boxer's stance on top of her platform. Weiss merely stood still, arms crossed with her weight supported on her back leg. A boy named Jaune looked around nervously as he observed some of the students before him were launched from their platform.

Ruby pulled up her cape's hood and braced herself by crouching slightly and gripping Crescent Rose's compact form on her back, before being launched through the air at high speeds. A scream of joy pulled itself from her lungs as she soared through a low hanging cloud and passed over the deep green trees below. Her smile widened into a smirk as she began to descend. She pulled her scythe off her back, activated it, then shot in front of her, the high powered ammunition's recoil slowing her descent. She hooked onto a tree branch and swung around it in order to lose more momentum before releasing and landing on the ground. _"I'd give that one a solid ten points."_ She said to herself with a small laugh before sprinting forward in search for her sister. The sounds of a battle drew her out of her mind as she turned towards it, hoping to find her sister. What she found, however, may have been much better off.

* * *

Weiss had been having a rather odd morning. First she woke up, got a nice warm shower, and then made up with the girl that wouldn't leave her mind. After that, she was flung (FLUNG!) off a cliff, and to make matters worse, she had landed near a Beowulf nest. She cursed loudly to herself as she cut down yet another beast, adding to her already impressive body count.

"Fucking hell, when does it end!?" she yelled to herself as a group of eight Beowulves came out of their nest, the alpha in the middle of his group of bretheren. With a howl, they charged forward, intent on tearing apart one of their natural enemies piece by piece. Weiss raised her rapier in a ready stance, intent on taking down as many as possible. She closed her eyes tight and waited for the moment to strike.

A gunshot broke her concentration. She opened her eyes to the group of Grimm in front of her staring down at their alpha… or what had been their alpha. What remained of it was a pile of black flesh that looked more like mincemeat than anything. Weiss turned and saw a blur of red in her vision before the howls and screams of the Grimm brought her attention back around. A red whirlwind stood in the middle of them, cleaving through their armor and hide like a hot knife through butter. Pieces of the beasts fell around her, blood splattered the ground, painting it a deep black, and as the last pitiful howl emerged from the Beowulves, the blur stopped, revealing a hooded Ruby who had a wide, sinister grin on her face.

"I hate Beowulves…" Weiss heard Ruby say to herself as she dropped her hood, smiling back at Weiss. "It seems my decision to apologize to you was not without its reward."

Weiss scowled slightly and sheathed her rapier in one swift motion. "Too true, but I could've handled it."

Ruby giggled and walked up to the white clad woman. "I'm sure you could have. Now let's go, the quicker we get done, the better."

Weiss nodded in agreement and took off behind the red reaper she now called teammate. _"What was with that grin after she finished massacring that pack?"_

* * *

" _Oh for fuck's sake!"_ Weiss thought to herself as the giant Nevermore circled overhead once more. Ruby and Weiss had both made it to the temple without a further issue aside from the stray Beowulf or Ursa that had stumbled into their path, but was quickly, and savagely depending on what the grim was, torn apart by the blades of the young huntresses in training. They rushed to the temple, Ruby speeding up and tackling a blond girl to the ground in a hug, laughing the entire time. Yang and her teammate Blake, the girl from yesterday I realized, had gotten here just before us and had chosen to take the Knight piece, as the relics were chess pieces. _"How odd…"_ Weiss thought to herself, taking the other white knight for her and Ruby. As the two teams turned to leave, a girl with bright red hair dashed into the clearing they were in, a Deathstalker hot on her heels. An explosion erupted to their left, and an Ursa collapsed as a girl with orange hair and a rather large Warhammer jumped off it's back. A boy with long black hair that had a single pink stripe going through it collapsed, murmuring something to the hammer-wielding girl which caused her to calm down slightly, before dashing to the temple and grabbing a rook piece, singing "I'm queen of the castle" to herself. After that, a scream from above signaled Weiss to look up, highly confused as a blond boy fell from the sky. Weiss' mind snapped and she growled before screaming, "EVERYONE! CHILL THE FUCK OUT!"

Everyone, Grimm included, halted all movement as they stared wide-eyed at the white heiress. Weiss panted, then cleared her throat. "Thank you. You may resume as long as nothing ELSE happens that would fry by brain in FUCKING CONFUSION!" She marched toward Ruby and gripped her arm. "Let's go-"

Two Nevermore appeared from above, circling overhead, as the now grouped up initiates glanced between the giant birds and the white time bomb in their midst. Said time bomb mere looked at the birds with a blank expression before giggling slightly, letting it escalate into a full-blown maniacal laugh as she drew her rapier and pressed a button on the hilt. It shifted before their eyes into a simple silver pistol that resembled a Desert Eagle. She took aim at one of the Nevermore, still laughing maniacally, before pulling the trigger.

The rest of the group covered their ears and winced as the shot cracked through the air with the intensity of a lightning bolt. The round flew through the air and impacted the nevermore unlucky enough to be in its path of travel. Time slowed as the bird wailed in pain before exploding in a shower of black gore, the explosion sending a shockwave that rustled the leaves of nearby trees.

Weiss spun the pistol in her hand, blew some of the smoke and dust off the tip, then transformed it back into it's rapier form and sheathed it, beckoning for the others to follow. Everyone snapped to attention and followed close behind except Ruby, who's face had turned a deep red as she stared after the alabaster angel she called a teammate. "Im so fucking lucky… and wet…" She laughed before dashing after her teammates.

After coming back to the cliff, they stared at the two Grimm that had followed them: the Deathstalker who had retreated at the sight of one of its bretheren being turned into flying mush, and the remaining Nevermore. They each glanced at eachother, splitting into two groups of four. Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora, and Lie Ren ran towards the Deathstalker as Blake, Yang, Weiss, and Ruby rushed closer to the cliff, the Nevermore close behind. Ruby and Blake shot at the bird, causing it to change course. Ruby smiled from ear to ear and reapplied her cape's hood. She deployed Crescent Rose, her scythe's blade gleaming in the afternoon light. Ruby snapped her fingers and concentrated on her weapon, and the blade shifted, retracting into its support system before being replaced by a serrated edge. Ruby giggled innocently and ran her finger over one of the serrations, laughing louder as it split her finger on contact. "Get it's attention, I have a plan!" Ruby yelled at her teammates. They nodded and shot bullets and dust at the bird above, getting it lower as it prepared a sweeping attack against the group of four. With one final shot from Yang's Ember Celica, the four regrouped together as the bird paralleled with the ground. Yang and Blake jumped to two support columns nearby as they held Blake's weapon across, the ribbon pulled taut. Ruby jumped back on the ribbon as Weiss made a black glyph that held her Ruby in place.

"You are insane, you know that, right Ruby?" Weiss said to her partner.

Ruby swapped her scythe's ammo magazine with one that made her giddy with excitement. "You damn well believe it, princess. You have less than 5 seconds to take the shot."

Weiss smiled at the nickname before concentrating, taking less than one second to swap her black attraction glyph with a white propulsion glyph. Ruby grinned, her eyes glowing a bright silver as she pulled the trigger, the purple round causing the effect of the slingshot and propulsion glyph to triple. Ruby activated her scythe, taking two more shots before spinning, her semblance turning her into a red tornado of death and the smell of roses. The red buzzsaw approached the bird as it opened its maw, a vain hope to eat her whole. Ruby laughed maniacally and spun faster.

The sound of ripping flesh, a dying screech, and a loud moan brought Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune's attention away from the now dead Deathstalker. Ruby had came to a stop near them and was using her scythe as a support as she trembled with clenched eyes, a blood red face, and a bitten lip. Behind her was a horizontally bisected Nevermore, a very, very confused Blake, Yang laughing her ass off, and an equally red Weiss as she stared at her partner recover. Nora stepped forward and scratched the back of her head, then spoke a question that was on the majority of those present's mind: "The FUCK was that?"

 **Here we go, second chapter in under 24 hours. 68 views and two followers in one night is rather impressive I must say. This story IS going somewhere, I promise, you just gotta let me have time to piece my thoughts together. Again, criticism is accepted in all forms, I need to improve. Imma go now, gotta get ready for work.**

 **Peace friends.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Upon A Burning Star**

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long. You four will be known as Team RWBY… led by Ruby Rose. Congratulations you four." Ozpin finished listing off the list of new teams, lightly applauding with all others that attended the ceremony. Ruby was ecstatic. _"I get to lead my own team! Yes!"_ She thought to herself with a smile as Yang gripped her in a tight hug. Blake gave her a small smile and a nod of support. Weiss, however, simply stared ahead blankly. Ruby walked up to her, curious.

"You okay there Weiss?" she said, waving a hand in front of her teammate's face. Weiss blinked animatedly before shaking her head, a pristine smile that didn't quite reach her eyes forming on her face. "Yes, congratulations. Sorry for spacing out, I'm okay." She said the last part seemingly to herself before slowly walking back to their new dorm room, spaced out once more.

"What's up with her?" Yang asked, placing her hand on Ruby's shoulder. Blake walked up to Ruby's other side quietly. "She's been this way since the Emerald Forest. Maybe she saw something?" Blake's reasoning made the two sisters quietly think to themselves, but Yang threw her arm over Ruby and Blake's shoulders. "Ah well, when she's ready to come around, she will! Now let's go to bed. I'm tired." She yawned as the others gave her an odd look. "Yang," Blake said "It's only Four in the afternoon. How could you possibly be tired?"

"Semblance and aura usage, my teammate. Semblance and aura." Yang mumbled back, eyes slowly losing the battle with gravity. Ruby picked her up with ease and smiled. "Let's go Blake." She called back to the ravenette teammate behind her.

Weiss woke up early the next morning, eyes dull as the heat from her bed attempted to lull her back to sleep. Giving a yawn and a small stretch, she smiled as blood pumped through her now more limber arms as she sat up… only to see a smirking Ruby holding a silver object to her lips.

The squeal of the whistle made the alabaster heiress flail and scream, falling off her bed in a jumbled pile with her blanket. Blake screamed and gripped her head and Yang merely lifted her arm over the side, flipping her sister an almighty grumpy middle finger.

Ruby's laughter filled the room as she took in their reactions. "Good morning team!" She said through recovery breaths. "Come on guys, up and at em! We got shit to do!" She clapped twice as her three very groggy teammates rose from their current positions. As their feet touched the floor, Ruby dashed into their closet, rose petals dusting the floor as their bags were quickly placed on their beds.

"Alright team, we gotta unpack-" her sentence was stalled as one of Blake's bags fell off the bed, busting open on the floor and causing the ravenette to turn a bright scarlet. "-and clean! I'll grab everyone's other bags, you three get dressed!" Ruby sped off as two salutes and one middle finger (Guess right and have a cookie) were sent her way.

"I call shower first," Called Yang as she dashed towards the bathroom. The other two merely sighed and began the unpacking process as Weiss' eyes regained a lively look.

Ruby returned to the dorm with their bags to a half-asleep Blake, a smirking sister, and a very disgruntled heiress. "The fuck happened while I was gone?" she smirked as she set the rest of their bags down. "Was my wake-up too much for you?"

Three pillows pegged her in the face in rapid succession, causing her to laugh. Weiss got off her bed and grabbed the whistle that fell out of Ruby's pocket, rushing to the bathroom despite her leader's desperate cries. The door slammed, and the next noise to break the silence was the flush of the toilet and the metallic clanging of the whistle against the porcelain before it fell silent again. Weiss reemerged with a snarl. "If you ever, and I mean EVER wake me up like that again, that whistle isn't gonna be the only thing floating downstream, got it?" She gripped Ruby's shoulders as she glowered into the quicksilver depths of her leader. Ruby gulped, a very faint tinge coming to her cheeks as she smiled. "You got it, snow angel." She laughed as Weiss sputtered then turned sharply and marched toward her bed. Looking around, Ruby realized decoration of the room had been complete. Even the beds had been pushed into empty spaces to make room. Smirking, she said, "Who here would object to ditching the beds for bunk beds to save room?"

Weiss was the only person to raise her hand, scowling at the silent democratic vote. "Fine… but this better not be a haphazard job done with rope and books as suspension." She glanced at Ruby who had only smirked wider. "What do you have in mind?"

Ruby giggled innocently before pulling a comically large bag out of the closet.

"No fucking way…" Blake mused out loud to herself as Ruby opened the window and pushed the blinds out of the way. "There's no physical way!" Ruby laughed harder and drug out a second bag, getting a raised eyebrow from Weiss, and a humorous twinkle from Yang's eyes.

"Mind helping me Yang?" Ruby asked innocently, lifting one of the beds off the floor. Yang simply smiled wider as she lifted the other half of the bed and tossed it out the window, hearing a crash and a "MY LEG!" from below. Three more beds were tossed before Ruby moved her bags to the corner of the room. "No. I refuse to believe that you have full-scale bunk beds in those bags. I won't evert believe such things. It's a trick, right Weiss?" the now desperate Blake asked her monochrome teammate, hoping against hope that physics and logic returned to the room. Weiss shrugged. "It wouldn't be the oddest thing ive ever seen…" She mumbled, focusing back on the sisters who were now opening the bags.

Indeed, they were full size bunk beds, each with a rich brown wood frame, comfortable double size mattresses, and red satin sheets. Weiss and Blake both blinked at their teammates, one with minor interest, the other with owlish bewilderment. Blake walked slowly towards the right hand bottom bunk as the red and yellow sisters claimed both top bunks. She poked the frame, redrawing her hand quickly as if the beds would bite her. After staring a bit more, blake sat underneath Yang, a dazed look crossing her amber eyes as the bow atop her head twitched. "Alright… fuck it. Probably will be the most tame thing I see today." Blake laid back on her bed as Weiss laid underneath the now giggling Rose sister.

"I've been waiting to use these for ages. Getting them here was an absolute bitch though…" Ruby mumbled from her position. "Weiss looked up, confused. "How and when did you get these here? You went to sleep not long after your sister yesterday afternoon." Ruby laughed and poked her head over the edge of the bed, staring into Weiss' glacier blue eyes. "Come closer."

Weiss, even more confused, scooted closer.

"A little closer now…"

A wary scooch forward.

"Almost there…"

Weiss placed her ear by her teammate's upside down face, a small look of worry in her eyes.

"A better question would be… how I got my whistle back."

Weiss had only time to take an owlish blink before a metallic screech filled her head, causing her to fall backwards with a yelp of pain. Ruby, howling with laughter, fell to the floor in a rolling mess of giggles and tears, matching her sister on her bunk.

Suddenly, she shot to her feet, deathly seriousness in her eyes. "Weiss… what time is it?"

Weiss glared at her with hatred and glanced at her open scroll. "8:55, why?"

Ruby smirked and calmly walked toward the door. "Well, we may or may not have but a measly 5 minutes to get to class." She cracked open the door before disappearing, her afterimage made entirely of rose petals falling to the floor. As the last one fell, Weiss, Blake, and Yang shot after their leader with worry, not wanting to be late on their first day.

"Well, I believe ive had enough of life. Ruby magically has bags of common household furniture AND somehow got her god-forsaken whistle back, Professor Port collects Grimm in cages and lets them loose in class, Professor Oobleck has speed to rival Ruby's-" a distant scream of "Doctor Oobleck" could be heard. "-just off of caffeine alone, and Professor Goodwitch seems to enjoy watching students tear each other apart until they barely have any aura left to defend themselves. Yep, Ruby's beds are the most tame thing so far." Blake said aloud, mentally rerunning through today's events.

Yang laughed and patted her shoulder. "What more did you expect? The best have their own quirks in order to distract themselves from their own pasts, and Ruby got off to bisecting a Grimm at high speeds. Nothing is as it seems, Blakey." Ruby blushed and giggled at the memory. "Things will only get weirder Blake, promise me. Expect anything and nothing at the same time. Yang could have a cartel business in Atlas. I could have my very own black market network for technology. Weiss could be an android, You never know with kids these days. Hell, for all we know, you could be a faunus with a suppressed animalistic side that outweighs your human side." Ruby laughed and jumped into bed. "Well, ive got homework, Yang has sleep, Weiss is the reason im doing homework-," she halted and smirked at the jolt the mattress gave as Weiss hit it from below. "-and you have a book to read with a LOT to think about. Have fun."

Blake blinked owlishly at her leader, wondering if what she had said had been her imagination or not. _"Fuck this noise… now I want milk. Damn you Ruby for bringing up my secrets unknowingly!"_ She left the room as Ruby sneezed, smirking to herself. _"And people say the insane aren't intelligent,"_

Several days had passed, and Weiss' nerves had been grated down to the bare minimum. _"How in the absolute almighty thunder-cunting fuck nuggets did she become leader over me? ME?"_ Weiss stared at Ruby, her rage growing as Ruby did more and more things that defied what Professor Port was saying the embodiment of a leader should be.

"Who here believes they hold these qualities?"

Weiss' hand shot up so fast Ruby thought she heard a slight shockwave from it. "I do sir!"

"Ah, Ms. Schnee, how nice. Prepare yourself and join me down here to prove yourself." The robust teacher laughed to himself boisterously as the cage beside him rattled, grunts raging out from within.

Three minutes later, Weiss had returned with her combat attire and Myrtenaster, her dust rapier. She joined Professor Port in front of the class, nose high in the air as she passed her leader. "Now then, this will be your first test. Keep the fight on the ground floor. If it escalates higher, you lose ten points. If another student is injured, you lose twenty. If the fight goes on for more than five minutes, you lose fifty. This is a one hundred point test, so keep that in mind. This is especially stressed to those who know they will need this by the end. This is only one of many practical tests to come, so be ready. Now, Ms. Schnee, are you ready?"

The nod from the white heiress signaled the professor to cut the lock on the cage with an axe that seemed to double as a Blunderbuss. The grunts inside the cage ceased, and there was a moment of bated breath. The door to the cage burst open, and a large Boarbatusk stod in its doorway, hatred gleaning through it's sanguine eyes. Weiss hopped to attention as it charged at her. She leapt through the air, off the creature's back and behind it, striking the armor on its spine to no effect. The angry boar only seemed to grow more furious at being hit, and tuned quickly after coming to a stop. It sprinted again, hoping to impale the white blight in front of it with it's razor sharp spears it wielded for tusks. Weiss lodged her rapier in between the tusks, blocking the attack and ignoring the minor cheering coming from her team. She backflipped as the boar Grimm ripped her blade from her hand, sending it across the room and into the wall. Weiss scowled but beckoned with her hands to the beast.

"Weiss! Retrieve your weapon and aim for it's underside! There's no armor!"

Weiss glared white hot daggers at her leader who had a look of concern across her features. "Fuck off and let me handle it! You don't deserve the position you have been given!" She yelled back and returned her attention to the boar who had begun spinning in place, preparing to speed toward the white heiress. Ruby recoiled from the venom used by the heiress. The words themselves didn't hurt, but the sting from the heiress caused Ruby to put up her hood and don her headphones before walking out of the class, her feet dragging the ground.

Weiss grabbed the Boarbatusk by its tusks with her aura covered hands, the sting of impact still passing through her spiritual shield. She groaned and pulled apart, the small beast making a confused grunt, then a scream of agony as one of it's white spears was ripped from its jaw. The beast flailed, knocking Weiss back as she held tight to the weapon. She sprinted forward, using her glyphs as propulsion, and speared the suffering creature in the stomach, the tusk piercing through it's spinal armor as if it were paper. Weiss gasped and stood, receiving a boisterous laugh and applause from her robust teacher. She smiled and glanced in the direction of her team, her face becoming neutral as she noticed the missing Reaper. _"good riddance."_

Ruby trudged down the hall, her only solace being the cape she hugged to her body and the music she lost herself in.

 _Like a kite my mind is soaring high._

 _Through the sky every day and night._

 _And way up high I can still see just fine,_

 _Don't worry everything will be alright._

 _I know it's scary, but everything will be alright._

Ruby smiled slightly as one of her favorite songs graced her ears with a pounding vengeance. Her mind roamed itself and had found itself some old suppressed memories to dredge up, causing the redhead to have to sit down in risk of falling.

" _You are the reason she left!"_

" _Worthless little leech…"_

" _Get me another bottle, bitch, and I may not use you as target practice today."_

She wept silently, holding her knees to her chest. _"That same venom he used when I was young. Why is it resurfacing now?"_ Ruby nearly missed the footsteps that halted beside her, nearly missed the subtle shift of the metal bench she had found out by the fountain in front of Beacon as someone joined her.

"I used to come out here myself in my own times of strife. Fond memories on this exact bench." Ozpin sipped his coffee and glanced at the distraught girl beside him.

"Was Weiss right? Do I deserve my place as team leader, or even my position here at this school?

Ruby shuddered at how hollow her question sounded, the sound dragging more memories from the deep recesses of her mind. An unnoticed wave of tears spuilled from the quicksilver wells that were her eyes. "My life has been played by ear since I left the man I once called… called father. Suddenly, I get here and I feel as useless as I did with him. Nothing changed but the faces. Now tell me… do I deserve to be here, Ozpin?"

The headmaster of beacon merely sipped his coffee once more, looking at the red reaper beside him. "Miss Rose, I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, but I do not believe my decision to accept you here as team leader to be one of them. You know better than most others here that life isn't kind. You know this, yet you push forward with your goal of saving people. Your desire is to help people have better lives than yourself, am I correct?" A subtle nod was his only answer. "Then continue your path here. I assure you it will aid you until you feel it is time for you to take the next step, whatever it may be." He stood with cane and cup in hand. "You have been given a daunting task, Ruby. Being a leader is more than a title in bathe, but a badge you wear constantly. If you can't find a reason to push forward, what reason do you give others to follow you?"

Ruby remained in place as her headmaster walked away slowly, allowing her headphones to lull her back into her mind, but finding only solace… and the faintest touch of white.

Weiss had been in a shitty mood all day, what with waking up to a whistle, the rushed decorum of their room, the headache induced by her partner's antics, the migraine developed by her teammate's reappearing whistle, the fury that clawed at her mind at her leader's antics in class, the pain she felt in her heart after realizing her blade sharp words used against her partner, the worry pulled up aftercoming back to her dorm completely empty, the guilt as Yang only shook her head in disappointment and Blake's glance of bitterness at her, and now the sorrow of trying to find her partner.

She dwelled on her mood before coming upon the very teacher whose class made her snap at Ruby.

"Professor Port!"

He turned and smiled. "Ah, Miss Schnee! A pleasant surprise!

She gave her teacher a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I enjoyed your lesson today."

Peter Port quirked a large, silver eyebrow as his moustache twitched slightly. "You seemed more intent on putting your leader down than completing my task."

Weiss' false smile fell quickly, replaced with a somber expression. "I was angry at the time over something stupid. I should have held my tongue, but failed to do so, and now she's missing. I feel awful for saying such things and I can't find her to apologise."

Peter put his hand on Weiss' shoulder, walking her to a bench before sitting. "I'm glad you have taken responsibility for your actions, but let me clear up any remaining feelings you may still harbor. Your prowess on the battlefield is only matched by your poor social attitude. I see before me a girl who has spent her entire life getting everything she had ever wanted. You believe that simple demands will change the minds of those in power. You may not think this now, but I wish to be sure. I have known Ozpin for a long many years, and the man has never once led me astray in a decision. I trust his judgement, as you should. Hone your skills. Perfect every technique… and be not the best leader, but the best person. I hope these words resonate within you and give you more to think about. I bid you good night, Miss Schnee, and my good luck to you and young Miss Rose."

Weiss sat still as Professor Port walked off. She started thinking to herself all the things that had happened that day and debated with herself if those simple actions yielded her any permissible reason to stand behind her words. Finding none, she sank lower in her seat, thinking of how to apologise to her leader. Her scroll went off with a quiet 'ding' and she took that as her queue to head back to her dorm, hoping for the best of luck.

Upon returning to the dorm, it was well into the night, so she wasn't at all surprised at the lack of light as well as the sound of balanced breathing, along with Yang's snoring from her side of the room. Closing the door, she stood still and took in the noises of her familiar teammates. Smiling softly, she looked up to the bed above her own, curious about the makeshift blind that was pinned to the ceiling. She peeked behind the bed sheet and giggled softly at the sight before her. Ruby's long hair strewn about behind her as she drooled slightly on a paper she had rested her head on, causing it to stick to her face. Her glasses sat crooked on her face and a once-full cup of coffee now lay empty on its side beside Ruby's head. Weiss took in the sight, feeling her heart beat a little faster. She tapped Ruby's shoulder and smiled wider when Ruby woke up groggily, mumbling 'cookies' under her breath. She glanced up, noticing who stood beside her, and jumped, pulling the paper off her face with a blush. "Weiss! Im sorry, I was trying to finish homework and I fell asleep-" Her rant was quieted by Weiss' slender finger pressing itself to her lips.

"How do you take your coffee?"

Ruby looked at her, confused. "Cream and five sugars. Why?"

Weiss rolled her eyes at the quirky redhead, smiling. "I'll be back in a moment."

She returned a few minutes later with a steaming cup of life in her hand, the smell of caffeine and sugar arousing the reaper's mind to focus. "Thank you, Weiss, but why…?" her question lingered, but was ignored by the alabaster princess in font of her.

"Ruby, I believe you have what it takes to be a good leader… but just know this: I will be the best damn teammate you will ever have. That you can count on."

Ruby stared, shocked at what the short haired beauty had just said, before smirking. "I hold you to that princess. Thanks again for the coffee, fuck knows id need it to complete this shit.

Weiss laughed at her partner's language, running a hand through her rather short silken strands. "No problem. Good luck with studying." Weiss smiled ghen sunk back to the floor, popping up once again and pointing to a problem on Ruby's paper, smirking. "That's wrong, by the way."

Ruby smirked back and grabbed her pencil. "So it is. Now you go get ready for bed, princess. You need your beauty sleep."

Weiss snorted, but complied nonetheless. Opening the bathroom door, she turned back to Ruby. "Hey Ruby… I always wanted bunk beds as a kid."

Ruby gave a genuine smile to Weiss, receiving one in turn, then returned to her studies after the soft click of the bathroom door sounded, leaving her to her notes… and thoughts of white.

 **Well, here we are again. A bit of background and character development. I haven't forgotten Team JNPR, just give me time. I have graduation tomorrow, so there may not be another chapter later today, but I will look to a time and opportunity to make another. Read and review, all criticism is welcome.**

 **Peace and good morning/afternoon/evening/night.**


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